ECU/PCM "flash" Info/questions
12-03-2004, 11:12 AM
#826
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Originally Posted by jsh1120
On 11/04/04 Mazda "superceded" the previous service bulletin with another TSB mandating, again, that all cars (covered by the previous TSB) be reflashed. Along with the TSB, Mazda provided a new CD with (apparently) modified firmware to resolve the continuing issues with flooding/non-starting/etc.
Approximately 2 weeks later Mazda informed all dealers to STOP performing the reflash mandated in the 11/04/04 TSB, indicating that the most recent version of the firmware had bugs. Dealers are now awaiting new CD's with revised firmware before they can perform the (now famous) "M" flash.
Dealers are still awaiting the CD. According to a dealer I spoke to on Monday, it is doubtful that the revised version will be available until after 01/01/05 since "nothing much happens at Mazda during December."
Approximately 2 weeks later Mazda informed all dealers to STOP performing the reflash mandated in the 11/04/04 TSB, indicating that the most recent version of the firmware had bugs. Dealers are now awaiting new CD's with revised firmware before they can perform the (now famous) "M" flash.
Dealers are still awaiting the CD. According to a dealer I spoke to on Monday, it is doubtful that the revised version will be available until after 01/01/05 since "nothing much happens at Mazda during December."
1. the MSP04 was not "superceeded" by a new TSB. they made an update to it. seems like semantics i know but there wasnt a new bulletin to look at . They had to read their emails and re read the MSP04 bulletin to understand the updates.
2. Dealers should not be waiting for a CD. they know how to update their wds by downloading the files from Mazda's Tech site and they have been instructed to do so to update their WDS so they can perform the flashes.
3.The dealer you spoke to on Monday is an ***!. Avoid him if you can. What he is doing is waiting for the Major update Cd which will include all of the .x updates that come in through out the month. that's just pure incompetence/laziness. that can put him many updates behind and therefore not only will he be not servicing his RX-8 customers properly but all the Mazda customers. He can go online right now downlaod the WDS update files unzip them to a disc and load them into his WDS. He's is the kind of service guy that gives Mazda service a bad name.
12-03-2004, 11:22 AM
#828
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Originally Posted by zoom44
well you almost have it correct. and i dont fault you for the errors. my bet is that your dealer(s) is incompetent enought to have this wrong or is just plain lazy. both bother me to no end.
1. the MSP04 was not "superceeded" by a new TSB. they made an update to it. seems like semantics i know but there wasnt a new bulletin to look at . They had to read their emails and re read the MSP04 bulletin to understand the updates.
2. Dealers should not be waiting for a CD. they know how to update their wds by downloading the files from Mazda's Tech site and they have been instructed to do so to update their WDS so they can perform the flashes.
3.The dealer you spoke to on Monday is an ***!. Avoid him if you can. What he is doing is waiting for the Major update Cd which will include all of the .x updates that come in through out the month. that's just pure incompetence/laziness. that can put him many updates behind and therefore not only will he be not servicing his RX-8 customers properly but all the Mazda customers. He can go online right now downlaod the WDS update files unzip them to a disc and load them into his WDS. He's is the kind of service guy that gives Mazda service a bad name.
1. the MSP04 was not "superceeded" by a new TSB. they made an update to it. seems like semantics i know but there wasnt a new bulletin to look at . They had to read their emails and re read the MSP04 bulletin to understand the updates.
2. Dealers should not be waiting for a CD. they know how to update their wds by downloading the files from Mazda's Tech site and they have been instructed to do so to update their WDS so they can perform the flashes.
3.The dealer you spoke to on Monday is an ***!. Avoid him if you can. What he is doing is waiting for the Major update Cd which will include all of the .x updates that come in through out the month. that's just pure incompetence/laziness. that can put him many updates behind and therefore not only will he be not servicing his RX-8 customers properly but all the Mazda customers. He can go online right now downlaod the WDS update files unzip them to a disc and load them into his WDS. He's is the kind of service guy that gives Mazda service a bad name.
12-03-2004, 11:27 AM
#829
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Originally Posted by rx8cited
Flash bug fixed: https://www.rx8club.com/showpost.php...2&postcount=58
12-03-2004, 12:10 PM
#830
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Originally Posted by salituro64
That's correct about the download. My dealer told me, when I expressed concern regarding the most recent flash, that they download it from the web and obtain what ever is the latest and greatest.
12-03-2004, 12:12 PM
#831
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Originally Posted by MI_FamilyMan
Is there any difference between the pre-11/04/04 MSP04 flash and the 6/2004 MSP04 flash? I have the June version of MSP04, and have had no problems, but if there is good reason to get the "latest" version of it, I would like to know...
12-03-2004, 02:33 PM
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New Flash today
As many of you who follow these forums know, I have been complaining about getting 10mpg. Today I talked to the Dealership and they had me come in to get the new flash. They said it was released today. They were supposed to have Mazda call me, and they said they would call me when the flash was available. Any way I called them and took it in for a new flash. Filled my car before I went and checked my mileage. I got 9.4 mpg this time. 90 miles since last fill up, Car took 9.4 gallons. That was trying the 87 octane. Well I'll see how this new flash effects things. The car seemed quicker, especially on lunch on the way home. Probably just wishful thinking. Or maybe I got the missing horsepower. LOL
12-03-2004, 03:09 PM
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not to beat a dead horse but i found if you keep the rpm's after 3 rd gear around 3200-3500 you will get better mpg's.the problem is that you don't pat attention and your in 5th gear in town and doing 2200rpm's which sucks gas.
12-03-2004, 03:27 PM
#838
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Originally Posted by TheColonel
Not to start this again, but are you saying that there's a new "N" flash? Or that the flash is new to you?
12-03-2004, 03:30 PM
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I get a solid 13 mpg in town, all the time, no matter what. That said, I tried modifying my driving, just to see, but I can't. Its just not fun. My problem is the opposite of yours...I'm usually tooling around over 4K, because you have to to be anywhere near the power band. This also sucks gas of course, but its a whole lot more fun than 3200-3500, and even more fun than 2200!
jds
jds
Originally Posted by 8's enough
not to beat a dead horse but i found if you keep the rpm's after 3 rd gear around 3200-3500 you will get better mpg's.the problem is that you don't pat attention and your in 5th gear in town and doing 2200rpm's which sucks gas.
12-03-2004, 05:27 PM
#841
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Originally Posted by knowledge1213
Well the guy is right. I just called my dealer at Trussville Mazda to verify and they said the new flash came out Dec.2nd,,,,,, and to come right in to have it performed.
he's right that they released a flash that fixed the bug in the recent Z/L file. however it is not the "N" flash that people have been speculating about and rumouring about for the past several months. that was the question i was answering. the most current flash is stil the same as the previous M. please go read my explanation in the tech forum thread.
12-03-2004, 05:55 PM
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Originally Posted by 8's enough
not to beat a dead horse but i found if you keep the rpm's after 3 rd gear around 3200-3500 you will get better mpg's.the problem is that you don't pat attention and your in 5th gear in town and doing 2200rpm's which sucks gas.
12-03-2004, 06:01 PM
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So just how many versions of the M flash are there? From what I can tell, there may be 3?
1) Original M flash (Spring '04)
2) Updated M flash (Fall '04 - w/ CEL bug)
3) Newly updated M flash (Dec.2nd '04 - w/ bug fixed)
Someone please confirm. Thanks.
1) Original M flash (Spring '04)
2) Updated M flash (Fall '04 - w/ CEL bug)
3) Newly updated M flash (Dec.2nd '04 - w/ bug fixed)
Someone please confirm. Thanks.
12-03-2004, 06:30 PM
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Originally Posted by Johnnyma45
Wait, I was under the assumption that the lower the rpm's, the better the mileage? Am I misinformed? I've been keeping the rpm's as low as possible around town, usually in 5th-6th around 45-55 mph. Is this worse than keeping it in 4th, around 4k rpm? I get about 18mpg.
12-03-2004, 07:11 PM
#845
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Originally Posted by RX-Hachi
So just how many versions of the M flash are there? From what I can tell, there may be 3?
1) Original M flash (Spring '04)
2) Updated M flash (Fall '04 - w/ CEL bug)
3) Newly updated M flash (Dec.2nd '04 - w/ bug fixed)
Someone please confirm. Thanks.
1) Original M flash (Spring '04)
2) Updated M flash (Fall '04 - w/ CEL bug)
3) Newly updated M flash (Dec.2nd '04 - w/ bug fixed)
Someone please confirm. Thanks.
12-03-2004, 07:27 PM
#846
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Originally Posted by RX-Hachi
So just how many versions of the M flash are there? From what I can tell, there may be 3?
1) Original M flash (Spring '04)
2) Updated M flash (Fall '04 - w/ CEL bug)
3) Newly updated M flash (Dec.2nd '04 - w/ bug fixed)
Someone please confirm. Thanks.
1) Original M flash (Spring '04)
2) Updated M flash (Fall '04 - w/ CEL bug)
3) Newly updated M flash (Dec.2nd '04 - w/ bug fixed)
Someone please confirm. Thanks.
ahh hell i dont want to type it all again so here are the quotes for those that haven't/wont read the other thread:
Originally Posted by zoom44
You're Welcome! Im just happy to be able to pass on the info. clueless dealers are our bane
for the newer folks 34.6 is the current newest calibration level for the service center's WDS machine. The WDS is the computer used to diagnose problems with your car and to to do things like update the car's PCM. the WDS needs to be at this level to do the flash correctly. also - just to recap on pcm flash file names. previous flash files were N3HxEx where the letter after the E was the flash level. now the file names are N3ZxEx. letter after the E is still the flash level. the first Z file was Z/L this debugged version is Z/M. the number after the H or Z tells whether the file is for an AT or MT.
for the newer folks 34.6 is the current newest calibration level for the service center's WDS machine. The WDS is the computer used to diagnose problems with your car and to to do things like update the car's PCM. the WDS needs to be at this level to do the flash correctly. also - just to recap on pcm flash file names. previous flash files were N3HxEx where the letter after the E was the flash level. now the file names are N3ZxEx. letter after the E is still the flash level. the first Z file was Z/L this debugged version is Z/M. the number after the H or Z tells whether the file is for an AT or MT.
Originally Posted by zoom44
well according to the MSP04 update the H/M and Z/L were at the same level so if you had the former you didnt need the latter. The Z/M just fixes a bug in the Z/L. I dont know what if any change was made from the H files to the Z files. Having said that and with my thing with part numbers i have my opinion which is just pure speculation. i think the H levels were sort of RX8 1.x and they had gotten so ahead of where that code started that they decided they had really changed so much that they were ready to call it RX8 2.0. so 1.9(H/M) and 2.0(Z/L) are essentially the same. again just my opinion but i think my logic is valid. people change part numbers for 2 reasons. the part has significantly changed or they got a new computer system that cant use the old part number. i think it is safe to say in this case it's the part has significantly changed from the original.
12-03-2004, 09:38 PM
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Originally Posted by gansan
Howard, when you drive around town, say 40-45 on surface streets, what gear do you usually use?
12-03-2004, 09:39 PM
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Originally Posted by TheColonel
Not to start this again, but are you saying that there's a new "N" flash? Or that the flash is new to you?
12-04-2004, 01:30 PM
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Originally Posted by Howard
This is the the flash that replaces the recalled flas a couple of weeks ago. I don't know if it is N or a version of M. It is new today to everyone from what I am told.
12-04-2004, 01:38 PM
#850
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Originally Posted by kilted
Not sure if it is still M or if it is N either. Guess I will know what kind of effect it had, if any, in a few days.
ok read my last post on the previous page. then you will be sure.
i swear one more person posts something like that without reading those posts i am going to scream
